Attention is directed to commonly owned and assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,878,320, issued Mar. 2, 1999, and 5,875,383, issued Feb. 23, 1999, to Stemmle et al., respectively entitled xe2x80x9cCONTINUOUS IMAGING OF A CONTINUOUS WEB SUBSTRATE WITH A SINGLE PRINT ENGINE WITH A PHOTORECEPTOR BELT SEAMxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cDUAL MODE INTERCHANGEABLE MODULES CUT SHEET OR WEB PRINTING SYSTEM WITH A SINGLE XEROGRAPHIC CUT SHEET PRINT ENGINE.xe2x80x9d The U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,320 patent discloses a continuous web substrate printing system which can utilize a single otherwise conventional or existing xerographic print engine (normally printing conventional cut sheet print substrates) having an endless photoreceptor belt with a belt seam requiring a section of that belt to be un-imaged in each belt rotation, yet provide continuous directly abutting images on the printed web, to avoid paper scrap. A special simplex or duplex continuous web printing substrate supply module may be docked with the cut sheet print engine to form an integral web printing system. It has a web feeding and image transfer system for appropriately feeding the continuous web printing substrate uncut into the print engine for image transfers to one or both sides of the web from the imaging surface of the print engine. For duplex printing a controlled expandable/contractible web loop may be provided in between two alternately engaged transfer stations, for alternately transferring batches of page print images onto opposite sides of the web in the proper sequence and positions, with interruption of the web feeding in the web segments in those areas. This is desirably coordinated with skipping and compensating for the un-imaged belt seam areas to avoid creating blank paper areas between any images on the web which would otherwise have to be cut off and wasted. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,320 patent discloses a plural mode printing system utilizing a cut sheet print engine for printing conventional cut sheet print substrates, in which page print images are generated and transferred to the cut sheets at an image transfer station. This plural mode printing system selectively provides printing onto either the cut sheets or onto an uncut continuous web printing substrate, in the same cut sheet print engine. An independently moveable continuous web printing substrate supply module is selectively operatively docked with the cut sheet print engine. That web printing module has a web feeding and image transfer assistance system for feeding the continuous web uncut into the cut sheet printing engine for transferring the page print images onto the web instead of onto cut sheets when the print engine is operatively docked with the web printing substrate module. The web printing module does not itself need to print. Rather, it can feed an extended loop of the continuous web into the cut sheet print engine image transfer station. The web module may provide either simplex printing or duplex printing onto both sides of the web with a duplexing system for feeding the web into the print engine for image transfer twice, with web inversion in between. The web modules are also preferably interchangeable with an optional cut sheet supply module.
The disclosure of the above mentioned patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The appropriate components and processes of those patent applications may be selected for the products and processes of the present invention in embodiments thereof.
The present invention is directed to a duplex printing apparatus and printing method thereof. More specifically the present invention is directed to a printing apparatus and to a duplex image simultaneous-transfer station subsystem used therein or a duplex image simultaneous-transfer station which can be attached thereto. Even more specifically the present invention is directed to an duplex image transfer station subsystem or accessory which is adapted to receive a continuous duplex web feed, that is a donor web feed where both sides of the continuous web bear transferable paired printed images, and the transfer station is further adapted to thereafter simultaneously transfer the paired printed images from the continuous donor web to respective receivers, for example, receiver webs or suitable printed image substrates.
Duplex printing systems generally are well known in the art, reference for example, the aforementioned commonly owned U.S. Patent Nos. and those U.S. Patent Nos. that follow, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in there entirety.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,302, issued Apr. 18, 1995, to Manzer et al., there is disclosed a printing or copying machine has a photoconductor (10) with associated recording and developing station (EY, EM, EC, EB) for producing single-color or multi-color toner images on the intermediate image-carrier (10). The toner images are transferred electrostatically, in a transfer zone (T) onto a belt-type transfer element (16) and then, in transfer and fusing zones (U1, U2), printed from the underneath from the transfer element onto the recording carriers (24). In order to facilitate the fusing of the transfer image in the transfer and fusing stations (U1, U2), heating units (23, 31) for heating the toner images on the transfer element (16) and/or for heating the recording carrier (24) are provided. Between the first and the second transfer and fusing station (U1, U2), a turning station (W) is arranged. The printing or copying machine can be operated in the simplex and duplex printing mode of operation to produce single-color or multi-color copies.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,470, issued Oct. 24, 1995, to De Cock et al., there is disclosed an electrostatographic single-pass multiple station (e.g. multi-color) duplex printer is described for forming an image onto a web. The printer has at least three toner image-producing electrostatographic stations. Each station has a rotatable endless surface in the form of a photoconductive drum onto which a toner image can be formed. The printer also includes drive rollers for conveying the web in succession past the stations. Corona discharge devices transfer the toner image on each rotatable surface onto the web. The image-producing stations are arranged in two sub-groups, the drum of one sub-group forming a backing roller for the other sub-group, and viceversa, thereby to enable simultaneous duplex printing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,018, issued Apr. 6, 1999, to De Bock et al., there is disclosed a single pass, multi-color electrostatographic printer which includes a transfer member which is driven along a continuous path. Several toner images of different colors are electrostatically deposited in powder form in registration with each other on the transfer member to form a multiple toner image thereon. A substrate is fed into contact with the transfer member. The multiple toner image is thereby transferred to at least one face of the substrate. The printer includes heaters for heating the multiple toner image on the transfer member in advance of the transfer of the image to the substrate and cooling devices for cooling the transfer member following the transfer of the multiple toner image therefrom to the substrate to a temperature below the glass transition temperature Tg of the toner, prior to the deposition of further toner images on the transfer member.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,668, issued Oct. 3, 1995, to De Bock et al., there is disclosed an electrostatographic single-pass multiple station multi-color printer for forming an image onto a web, for example of paper. A plurality of toner image-producing electrostatographic printing stations each have a rotatable endless surface such as the photoconductive surface of a cylindrical drum onto which a toner image can be formed. The paper web is conveyed in succession past the printing stations. The speed and tension of the web is controlled while it is running past the printing stations. Guiding rollers which determine for the web wrapping angles of about 15xc2x0 about the drum surface. A corona device transfers the toner image on each drum onto the web. The corona device, the wrapping angles omega. and the web tension are such that adherent contact of the web with the drum surface is such that the moving paper web controls the peripheral speed of the drum in synchronism with the movement of the web. Slippage between the drum surface and the paper web is thereby eliminated, enabling accurate registration of superimposed images on the paper web.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,384, issued Apr. 25, 1995, to Wachtler, there is disclosed a printing or copying device having a photoconductor drum (10) for receiving two adjacently arranged toner images for a recto and a verso of a recording medium (15). Provided for the simultaneous transfer of the toner images onto the recording medium (15) are two separate transfer ribbons for the recto toner image and the verso toner image. In this case, one transfer ribbon is deflected over a deflection device in such a way that the transfer ribbons (T1 and T2) are positioned one above the other in a fuser station (19) designed as a thermal printing fuser station. The recording medium (15) is passed between the transfer ribbons (T1 and T2) and is thus printed verso/recto simultaneously. The aforementioned references are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
In duplex printing apparatuses and duplex printing processes of the prior art, various significant problems exist and include, for example, a substantial limitation in the types and kinds of imageable substrates available for use in current xerographic and the like printing devices, such as the size and width of substrates.
These and other problems and disadvantages are avoided, or minimized with the apparatus and processes of the present invention. There remains a need for simple, and economical apparatus and processes thereof for duplex imaging and printed image transfers. The apparatus and method of the present invention are useful in many applications, for example, in a variety of specialty printing applications including cut-sheet and continuous-sheet image receiver materials, fabric and specialty image receiver materials, for use in for example, electrophotographic, ink jet, or the like imaging processes.
Embodiments of the present invention, include:
An apparatus comprising:
a transfer station adapted to receive a continuous donor web feed, wherein situated on both sides of the continuous donor web are transferable paired printed images, and the station is further adapted to thereafter simultaneously transfer the paired printed images from the continuous donor web to respective receiver substrates;
A process comprising: simultaneously transferring paired printed images from opposites sides of a continuous donor web feed to respective receiver substrates; and
A print-transfer process comprising:
forming paired printed images on opposite sides of a continuous donor web;
feeding the continuous donor web with the resulting paired printed images on opposite sides of the donor web to a transfer station; and
simultaneously transferring the paired printed images from the continuous donor web feed to respective receiver substrates.
These and other embodiments of the present invention are illustrated herein.